An apparatus and method for radar based gesture detection. The apparatus includes a processing element and a transmitter configured to transmit radar signals. The transmitter is coupled to the processing element. The apparatus further includes a plurality of receivers configured to receive radar signal reflections, where the plurality of receivers is coupled to the processing element. The transmitter and plurality of receivers are configured for short range radar and the processing element is configured to detect a hand gesture based on the radar signal reflections received by the plurality of receivers.